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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Spring Fever

After an awful November - January, February turned out to be a good weather month for Minnesota. And almost all the snow had melted by last Friday. I looked out at my tree ring and my garden and I got spring fever. I imagined my yard full of green grass and bright flowers.

I also thought, hmm, I could use one of those garden grabber rakes where you can lift stuff out of the garden without actually having to touch it. You see, my tree ring was filled with dead leaves from the tree and they have to come out.

Friday night, I happened to stay up late enough to get the QVC Today's Special Value (TSV) email and the Woot.com notice for Saturday. Woot had a no-crank hose storage unit and since I was so tired last year of seeing that hose lying alongside my house on the mulch, I thought this would be perfect. So I ordered one. But I absolutely was not, I repeat not going to buy the QVC TSV even if it was three tree peonies.

And then I woke up on Saturday morning and we'd had almost 3 inches of snow. ::cry:: If that wasn't enough, QVC sent me a reminder email about the garden show that was starting in minutes. I flipped over. I was only going to watch. I wasn't going to buy anything--even if I was so ready for spring that I could hardly stand it.

The first thing I saw was the TSV. Three beautiful tree peonies. The price was good--I could get three for just slightly over what I'd normally pay for one--and peonies are one of my favorite flowers. I totally covet my mom's herbaceous peonies, and if they hadn't been so impossibly huge, my dad and I would have divided them last fall. But I digress. So the price for the tree peonies was good, they're one of my favorite flowers, but I was still holding strong because I hate that they send you a little stick and it takes forever for it to grow.

They got me when they held up the three-year-old peonies they were sending. Four branches instead of one stick. I caved and ordered them. I don't know where I'm going to put them, but I now have white, pink, and purple peonies scheduled to be delivered in May. Sigh.

If I'd been smart, I would have turned the channel then. I knew I was in a garden-ready mood. Somehow, though, I made it through the rest of the flower show without buying any more plants. And then the equipment portion started. I was still doing good--until the garden grabber rake appeared. And here I'd just been thinking how much I could use one of those. I ordered that, too.

And a little later it was gardening gloves. I really didn't need them. I have a pair. But these fit tighter so that dirt doesn't fall down the wrists and I thought, wow, that really is annoying in my current pair. Wouldn't it be nice to have a set where that didn't happen? And they came in pink, my favorite color. I dithered and then finally I ordered those, too.

And then I did flip away because I clearly could not be trusted around garden tools or plants in my current mood and I'd already done enough damage. Spring, please hurry!